Speaking In Tongues With Kardinal Offishall

What does the palest white guy in the ChartAttack office, M&M, and the hottest rapper in Canada, Kardinal Offishall, have in common? Corn!

No, the two didn't sit down and gobble on the vegetable you buy in the supermarket. Nope, this corn means something entirely different.

"You know, I'm not sure where that one come from," he says, down the line from his record label offices, Universal Music Canada. "I just know the word 'corn', it's in the street."

Next time M&M slips out at 4:20 for his break, we'll have a sneaky suspicion that he's going to "burn some corn."

"You have to pronounce it as 'con' C.O.N," Kardi says, correcting the horrible pronunciation.

Ever since the label sent M&M a Kardi Slang sheet, a reference list of Offishall terminology, so white folks can understand his record, Firestarter Volume 1: Quest For Fire he's been working the terms into his regular conversations. We were really frightened. So, we asked Kardinal if it's fine for a man who is beyond pale to be dropping slang like, "I really want to beat dat face!" while pointing to a tanked hottie in the bar.

Sadly, Kardinal told him, "If you want to, go ahead with it and have fun with it, that's what it's all about. Try it out, if it doesn't work, people will let you know."

Feeling somewhat vindicated, M&M is now using "Dat nuh mek it!" when he's asked to do more work.

So where did most of the slang used on "BaKardi Slang" come from?

"That stuff existed in the streets for how long? Know what I'm saying, most of it's derived from West Indie slang and I just wanted to put it in the forefront. I don't think there's been something like that that has come out of Canada so I said, 'Let's do it up. And represent properly."

Econoline Crush and Godsmack will probably start learning some of these fab terms when they head out on tour with Kardinal Offishall this month. We can picture Kardinal and Trevor Hurst burning some corn after the gig.

MuchLoud Tour featuring Kardinal Offishall, Econoline Crush & Godsmack:
Apr. 17 Sherbrooke, QC @ Granada Theatre
Apr. 18 Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
Apr. 20 Ottawa, ON @ Lansdowne Park Coliseum
Apr. 21 Toronto, ON @ Warehouse
Apr. 24 Winnipeg, MB @ Walker Theatre
Apr. 26 Edmonton, AB @ Northlands Agricom
Apr. 29 Vancouver, BC @ Plaza Of Nations